By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Nov. 12: The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Wednesday called for immediate action against climate change and appealed to world leaders for their active participation in the pursuit of environmental stability around the globe. He was speaking to UK based Channel 4 news online.
The Nobel laureate said that if he joined a political party now, he would like to join the Green party that promotes environmentalism and non-violence among others.
The 85-year-old warned the global community of ecological destruction affecting the lives of billions on this planet, “global warming may reach such a level that rivers will dry” and also “eventually Tibet will become like Afghanistan”. He also emphasised the importance of the Tibet’s ecology that sustains at least a billion people dependent on the water from the Tibetan plateau.
Dalai Lama, citing an example from his new book ‘Our Only Home’, jokingly suggested that all the world leaders should be locked in a room with carbon dioxide until they realise what climate change really means.
The exiled Tibetan leader said that the UN should take a more active role in this field and urged leaders to pay attention to the environment, “I hope you see those big nations who spent a lot of money for weapons or war turn their resources to the preservation of the climate.”
The octogenarian leader who is a vocal advocate of environmental preservation also promotes large-scale tree planting and vegetarianism to help tackle climate change. He said that his greatest contribution to fighting climate change has been the promotion of education and compassion around the globe.
